Cape Girardeau council adopts 2025 tax rates after Board of Equalization adjustments

At its Aug. 18 meeting, the Cape Girardeau City Council voted to adopt Bill 2,588, the ordinance levying the city’s 2025 property tax rates for the general fund, public health fund and Downtown Special Business District No. 2, after incorporating final adjustments from the Board of Equalization.

City staff explained that the council must finalize the ordinance before the Sept. 1 statutory deadline for establishing municipal property tax levies. Staff said the Board of Equalization made very small adjustments to the aggregate assessed valuation since the council’s preliminary hearing and the ordinance before council reflects those final numbers.

"The tax levy rates included in the ordinance represent the 2025 tax rates as calculated. And those rates per $100 of assessed valuation are 0.3055 for the general fund, 0.572 for the health fund and 0.73 for the downtown special district," the staff presenter said on the record.

An amendment was proposed and adopted at the meeting to ensure the ordinance reflected the finalized numbers provided in the council packet; the council then approved the amended bill. The transcript records the amendment was adopted (voice vote) and the amended ordinance carried on final reading; no roll-call vote with named tallies appears in the record.

Staff indicated the changes in assessed valuation were "very, very small"; no dollar totals for the aggregate assessed valuation were provided in the transcript. The ordinance completes the annual process to set city tax rates for the coming fiscal year.